Musing on yoga, wellness and living a healthy, happy life

May 25, 2013

What The Hell Is "Advanced" Ashtanga?

There is an ad on the side of my Facebook page advertising Rocket classes as "advanced" Ashtanga. A rocket class is a mix of poses from Ashtanga's 1,2 & 3 series done in a led or guided format. I have done rocket classes in the past and they are alot of fun and I enjoy them but it is not "advanced" Ashtanga. If anything it is beginner Ashtanga or Ashtanga for people who are not disciplined enough, to scared or don't care enough to learn it the right way. Yep, I said it.

Everyone can do Ashtanga but everyone is not going to want to do Ashtanga and that is okay. Rocket classes allow people to play with the poses from other Ashtanga sequences without actually earning them. Yep. I said it. If people want to do that, it is fine. To each his own but it is what it is.

When used appropriately, Rockets are a fun way to introduce people to an Ashtanga practice and to allow people to play with poses they may not see in their normal practice. It is an amazing experience and again I love rockets. However practicing mysore style Ashtanga every day even when you don't feel like it, not skipping the poses you don't like, doing the work and earning the poses you are given is "advanced" yoga. Dealing with all the crap that comes up and stilling the fluctuations of your mind as you cultivate your practice on a daily basis is "advanced" yoga.

Rockets being "advanced" Ashtanga is just a ridiculous marketing tool to sell a teacher training.